A total of 40 people have been ordered to pay more than £14,300 combined for committing littering offences in County Durham.

Afterwards, Ian Hoult, neighbourhood protection manager, Durham County Council, said: “Littering is an issue that is raised on a regular basis by our communities. We have a beautiful county and this spoils how it looks, can impact the environment and is costly to remove.

“There is no excuse for dropping litter and the volume of prosecutions here shows how seriously we take this offence.”